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The award is given in honor of Dr. Florence Sabin, Vermont Academy alumnae and one of the great medical minds of the 20th century. Sabin devoted her life to furthering scientific knowledge and improving health conditions, particularly in Colorado. She was the first woman to receive a full professorship at Johns Hopkins University, and the first woman member of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Sabin was also elected the first woman member of the National Academy of Science and the first woman president of the American Association of Anatomists. She was a member of the Vermont Academy Class of 1889.

Kelton grew up in Peru, Vt., and attended a one-room schoolhouse for eight years. His mother, a member of the Vermont Academy class of 1924, decided that Vermont Academy was the place to provide him with academic discipline and focus. Kelton credits his education there as extremely meaningful and, "established in him excellent work habits and goal objectives." He applied these life skills not only to his higher education and degrees at Dartmouth and the University of Vermont but beyond in his professional career.

In 1965, Kelton moved to Vail and is an active resident in the Vail Valley with his wife, Elaine, whom he married in 1986. His career in real estate development, syndication and sales, includes Colorado projects in Vail and Eagle County, Boulder, and at Denver International Airport. He was the managing partner of Christopher Denton Kelton and Kendall. He has developed golf courses, custom homes and various multi-family developments throughout the Vail Valley. Additionally, Kelton's career incorporates projects and investments in Idaho, Wyoming and Vermont. Included in these investments, he acted as a general partner in Boulder Beer, which is now The Rockies Brewing Company.

Always actively involved in both nonprofit and educational institutions, Kelton served as president of the Vail Valley Medical Center Foundation from 1991 to 2006. He's been a member of the board of the Vail Valley Medical Center since 2006, and serves on two boards at Dartmouth College, as well as on the boards of several other charitable organizations.

Founded in 1876, Vermont Academy is a private, independent boarding and day school in southern Vermont.